Earl Yorke

Here is the second part of my letter to myself… there is still one part left, and I will leave that sad part for another time. Here is the second portion:

…Drug use is a tender subject with me, Earl. By the time that this letter reaches you, I hope that you have quit smoking and drinking, but I have my doubts. I hate drugs at this time, and not just the really bad ones that I have never tried, but the cigarettes and the alcohol as well. Now let’s pretend that Scott C. helped me, or anybody in my sixth grade class during D.A.R.E education… because he didn’t. I rather got more of an understanding of the cancer sticks and happy juice that I now succumb to consuming, and that didn’t scare me in the least. I hate all drugs, but at the same time I love them… this may sound indecisive, but it is the case with me as a senior in high school. When it comes to drugs, I don’t know what to think… if you consume them, and yet you say you hate them, can you not be called a hypocrite?

Beauty… beauty… what is the meaning of the word? The dictionary defines it as “very pleasing or delightful to look at.” This is not very helpful because in this case beauty can be a word placed on anything. A cat or a dog can be beautiful to somebody. So, going on this, I would have to say that at this time I love beauty because it is whatever I want it to be. My poster of John Belucci on the wall of my room is beautiful, the music that I listen to is also beautiful, and the computer that I sit at right now, typing this letter, is also beautiful. My stance with beauty is that it is a good thing, and is necessary to have in a life that you are content with.

My attitude toward religion, Earl, is the most dramatic of all…

Part Three comes later, friends!

Bear with me, all! This is something my mother found just tonight in her sewing bag… something I wrote to my future self in High School! Though she told me not to share it… here’s the first half (try to keep an open mind, I was a young wierdo):

Earl,

Well, you should be receiving this letter some time in 2011, ten years after you graduate in order to remind you of what your beliefs were as a senior in high school. Your attitudes toward sex, the law, drug use, beauty, fads, and the big one: religion will be recalled in this letter… this is your philosophy. Also noted within this letter will be your strengths, loves, ambitions, fears, and views of people in general. Have fun… this may be scary.

We’ll start with sex. I have always thought up until this time in my life that it was just an act of pleasure… mostly self-centered. Yet, as I came upon my senior year I realized something: sex is two-sided, and not just an act of pleasure. Through my experiences with Leona I have come upon one truth, and that is that sex is something that two people who are in love share. It is something that they alone do, and is almost the only thing that they do not share with the outside world. This is what makes it special, not just for me, but for the person whom I love and choose to share it with as well.

Law. I hate this right now. It is all of the Pigs in the town of York and the town of Ogunquit that ruin my life by pulling me over for what they playfully call a “routine check” of my vehicle… this is really called “searching the highly accessorized Mustang for drugs.” I am the kind of person who likes the whole “Gangster Rule” notion, which basically follows the line of “whomever is the meanest and most terrifying is the leader.” I am not really too sure why, but this is my belief. Rules, to me, are meant to be broken (though this is not the case in certain circumstances like in-school behavior and work ethic for the most part).

That’s it… look for the second part… soon!

…Slowly, but surely, we are making progress with the adaptation of “The Dominance Flush” into a screenplay. I’ve been writing it, and Dina has been reviewing it with a bit of friendly advice that I have appreciatively adhered to. There’s not much to report right now as I am trying to keep the changes and additions to the overall plot a secret from all except my wife and Jeff.

It’s been over a month since I’ve posted here… sorry, I’ve been very busy here at work, and my time at home has been consumed by play time with my son, and writing the screenplay. My spirits have been high, despite my overwhelmingly busy schedule. I owe this to several people in my life who have unknowingly imparted kind words and other forms of inspiration to me recently. Thank you, Barbara & Craig, Dina, Mom, and of course Grum & Bump!

That will be all for now. Look for more later this month… no promises, but I’ve considered posting a bit of the new screenplay.